Screenwriting: London Screenwriters Festival

From the 15-17 September I went to the London Screenwriters Festival! I found out about it last year, but didn’t go as I didn’t think I was ready. With a couple of new screenplays under my belt I thought now was the right time.

I didn’t know what to expect, but in the days leading upto it started to look at the sessions on offer, and with one of them being about Pixar and the art of storytelling, I started to get really excited. The festival had five streams of talks and going in I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn lots and meet like minded people.

And that’s pretty much what the festival did. There were hundreds of people all with different levels of experience; some people hadn’t written anything, others had several short films made, and others who had just written one project. It was really interesting to talk to others about their writing processes and see what I could learn from that. I was a bit wary of talking about all my different ideas I had, but I ended up just talking mostly about what I had written on in the past and what I was working on currently. There wasn’t a writer that was writing for the same genre, as most people I met wrote dramas, and it will be useful to keep in contact with them, for when I write darker pieces.
What was surprising was how generous people were with their time; ranging from other delegates, to speakers. It was hard to gauge how much time to spend with each delegate. I didn’t want to spend too long because I thought otherwise I might miss out on meeting someone who could provide a different opportunity or approach to writing that I might benefit.

The festival had a few extra sessions on which you had to book in advanced, these were the Pitchfest, Table Reads and Speed Networking. I only went to the networking, but upon hearing from others who took part in the first two, I definitely want to do those next year, even if they do feel extremely daunting!

The speed networking was beneficial but was a bit of a blur as it was an hour session and you only had 2 minutes to talk to each person. Some people stood out and I got lots of business cards, but the people that I spoke to before and after the session stuck in my mind.

I left the festival, firstly completely knackered. But I left with a nice group of screenwriters that share the same enthusiasm about screenwriting, and don’t glaze over when I go in depth about screenwriting ideas, which some people who don’t write sometimes do. They have also said they would like to read my screenplays and provide feedback which will be invaluable. I learnt way more than I expected. I learnt a lot about the industry, how you need to be strategic, and make opportunities yourself, and about how to improve my work straightaway. I took lots of notes from the sessions I went to, and a fair amount of new ideas for screenplays I’m already writing. I even started listening to On the Page podcasts, which is a podcast series one of the speakers runs, and I’m learning a lot from them already.

Now it’s just the constant balance of trying to fit the day job and screenwriting in. I left with a great enthusiasm and motivation. I just need to keep the momentum going!

Pictures from London Screenwriters Festival; photographer Naomi Koiji Paton.

Thoughtful presents: One size does not fit all

This is a particularly tricky blog post to write, but one I felt I would attempt to say a few words on. Over the past few months there have been a few people in my life that have gone through mental health issues. (My apologies if that is the incorrect term.) I’m not going to say their names as it isn’t important but they have all been dealing with depression and anxiety.

When you see people in your life go through these things, I have a particular reflex that I have to do something to make their life better in some way, but not necessarily give a solution. There is no end date for someone being free of a mental health issue.

What I have come to learn is that one size doesn’t fit all. 2 people I know were both going through depression and anxiety. Both let me know what was going on and while one wanted me around, the other upon offering to keep them company, they said they didn’t want to see people.

Trying to show support from afar can be tricky. Quite often we can say to friends who are going through a tough time I’ll be there for you, but I feel that doesn’t really do much.

Although the internet isn’t professional advice, I wanted to see from real people what helps them when they are going through depression and anxiety. Buzzfeed gave me some great ideas and I created 2 care packages for people I knew going through anxiety.

The packages included a water bottle to keep hydrated, playdough to play with and keep distracted with. A puzzle book to keep the mind busy, a notebook to draw doodles in, socks to wear for long walks, bubbles to blow, a favourite book to read and a nicely scented candle. I thought if I put a variety of things that may help, then at least one might have the right impact. And the people i gave the packages to said about the things in the packages that helped which was a good sign.

I bought the person that couldn’t see people during the dark times a necklace to symbolise that even though they couldn’t see people, it gave the feeling they weren’t alone.

When giving gifts you have to be careful not to bombard the person. One gift is enough to say that you are there for that person unconditionally. I give the gifts a couple of days after I know what that person is going through. I do this just so the person has forgotten the conversation we had and is now focused onto something else.

Since the people in my life have hit their lowest points, I check in from time to time to ensure they don’t feel pressured in giving updates. Cards are a great thing to give if you just want to remind someone you are there for them, and a symbol of how far they’ve come in their journey.

I’m not sure if this blog post has been of help to anyone, or whether I’ve been to blasé about mental health issues. It’s something I’m constantly learning about. I read a book called Sunbathing in the Sun years ago, which is about depression. Becoming more knowledgeable about mental health isn’t going to make me an expert, and that’s not what I set out to do. But I hope that I can be a better person and support to those I know going through mental health issues.

Thoughtful presents: Leaving on a jet plane

My friend Coops and his girlfriend Fran who I’ve become friends with as well are heading off to New Zealand for 18 months. Yesterday they had farewell drinks and I thought it was an occasion that needed a present.

I thought the best thing to get them was an airport/flight care package. After asking a couple of friends who’d travelled a fair bit for some ideas I came up with the below.

I bought them a couple of magazines; Coops loves films so Empire magazine was best. For Fran I got her Psychologies magazine as I thought fashion and girlie magazines weren’t her sort of thing. I also put in a colouring book and puzzle book to keep boredom away and some fluffy warm socks for the flight itself.

They weren’t expecting anything, so their surprised reaction was nice to see.

Thoughtful presents: First time mums

Over the years quite a few of my friends have been pregnant and it’s easy to think of a present for when the baby is born, but not so easy to think of what to get somebody who has just announced they are pregnant.

I’ve given this present twice, first to my friend Michelle when she was pregnant last year, and secondly a few months back to a colleague of mine who announced she was pregnant also.

When Michelle first told me she was pregnant I wondered what could I get her to say congrats but also be helpful. Alas my two week work placement at Mother and Baby magazine during my Journalism degree did not prove useful in thinking of an idea. Partly because I spent the majority of the time photocopying!

So I googled what expectant mums would be going through in the first trimester and found that they would be getting increasingly tired and needed more water than usual. There were other things as well, probably to do with food, but I thought people’s food tastes are so different and change so much with pregnancy that I thought it was best to steer clear of food.

I then thought to keep it simple and buy a water bottle and a cushion. Both my colleague and Michelle commuted to work, so both presents were needed and greatly appreciated.

Thoughtful presents: Not costing the earth

I find the whole issue of how much we spend on presents really interesting. I’m a firm believer that affection shouldn’t come at a cost. I remember at school and uni, people would talk about how much they would spend on Christmas presents for their family and it would be around £200 and I was shocked.

My family pride ourselves on getting a bargain. It doesn’t mean that a family member isn’t less deserving of a gift because we didn’t spend so much on them. It means we can spend money on a greater number of people if we wish. I remember one Christmas Lucy bought Lisa series 1-5 of CSI, and she had to explain the cost because HMV had made a major error in their labelling and instead of £30 or so, it was £3 or roundabouts that figure! It was that great a bargain that the story had to be told.

On Tuesday I caught up with my friend Laura who I hadn’t seen in a couple of months. It was her birthday on Monday and I said that I would treat her to some gelato at Fabios. I also had bought a lucky dip bag from Tiger, which happened to be her favourite shop. I had no idea what was in it, but as you can see she got some random gifts. I didn’t realise that she actually loved the bird clips in the bag and had a few already and wanted some more.

She loved the lucky dip bag and the gelato; with the bag costing £2 and the gelato just over £3, a fiver for happiness for a friend isn’t bad going.

Thoughtful present: A party in a box

A few weeks ago I saw the live streaming of the National Theatre production of Angels in America at my local cinema. It was in two parts shown over two consecutive weeks. The first part was 3 hours 20 minutes and the second part was 4 hours 20 minutes (each part had a couple of intervals thrown in.) It was an epic play with amazing performances by the whole cast, and the staging and lighting were of a very high standard as well.

What stayed with me afterwards was ability the whole cast had to remember what was in essence the duration of several plays. And furthermore had the high energy to give thought provoking, funny and sensitive performances night after night.

I’ve written to a cast of a show before when I thought it was really good, but I thought that wouldn’t be enough this time. My sister Lucy knew someone who worked at the theatre itself and he advised against giving anything baked. The first thing I thought about when leaving the streaming of the play was that the cast need a long holiday, but I’m not a millionaire so I couldn’t send them to a tropical island!

I then thought that letting their hair down and having a party might be the next best option. So I visited one of my favourite shops Tiger and bought things to make a party in box or party package which has a nice ring to it. Novelty glasses were the main contributor, and I also bought some funky straws and disposable shot glasses. In a stroke of luck, I also found some sashes that said ‘I was hot in the 80s; which was pretty apt as the play is set in the 80s!

I dropped off the party pack to stage door early this evening. Who knows if it will be used at a party they may have. Even though there were a few well-known actors in the cast including Oscar nominated Andrew Garfield, I’m sure they’d appreciate a surprise thoughtful present from time to time.

Random act of kindness: Good customer service should be rewarded

Last week I was heading towards the hill at the end of my street for a brisk walk when I got stopped by a stranger asking me where the nearest hotel was. It was the next street along and as I hadn’t any urgent plans I thought I’d walk her there myself.

We got to the hotel and she hadn’t booked anything in advanced and she was a bit startled at the cost. She asked me if I knew of any other hotels and luckily I did as I used to work at one close by. I gave them a call and unfortunately they were fully booked. You would think that would be the end of the conversation but the receptionist went onto give me the details of other hotels close by, and their contact details. To save me time calling around she even checked Booking.com to see if there was availability. Bear in mind this hotel was fully booked and not gaining anything by helping me, I thought she went above and beyond.

Upon talking to the stranger some more I found out her name was Lisa and she’d travelled from France and was back up to Edinburgh the next door, not before presenting a poster at an event at a university. She was extremely tired, so even though the hotel I showed her to was the more expensive option, she booked a room there.

So there was the random act of kindness that I helped a stranger get a hotel room, but I also wanted to say thanks to the receptionist at the hotel I called. Luckily I was still in contact with the Front of House Manager, so I contacted her just to double check the name of the receptionist. I then wrote a little note and bought a bar of chocolate and dropped it off at the reception desk.

I’ve no idea if she has received it or her reaction; that’s not important. What I thought was important was that good customer service that goes above and beyond is recognised, which sometimes isn’t the case. Sometimes it’s easier to make a compliant because you’re hoping for a refund of sort, some sort of personal gain. Having worked in a couple of venues I recognise that at the end of the day venue staff work really hard and put up with a lot.

And who doesn’t like a free bar of chocolate? Free food always tastes better!